Against Breast Cancer’s annual community fundraising event formerly Splash of Pink and now after a public vote Paint Abingdon Pink will be on Abingdon Market Place on Saturday 12th July from 10:00 to 16:00.

There will be live music by groups thanks to The Skittle Alley, performances from Abingdon belly dancers, arts and crafts, Star Trek characters, and a barbecue. Stalls from many local groups and societies will add to the atmosphere.

Some Shop windows are already painted pink in preparation. This example is one of the Masons pink windows

and here is another pink touch.

A special highlight will be the creation of a communal artwork, inviting members of the public to take part in remembering and celebrating loved ones lost to cancer. As well as raising funds the event will raise awareness in support of life-saving breast cancer research.

The Abingdon Oxfam shop volunteers have been named Shop Team of the Year in the 2025 Oxfam Volunteer Awards — a national honour that recognises outstanding dedication and teamwork. The team achieved this without currently having a shop manager in place.

When asked about the award, a volunteer at the till said they were “very proud to have won.” The framed certificate now takes pride of place in the shop.

The shop itself is well-organised and a mix of fairtrade goods, second hand books and music, toys, homeware and ornaments, and clothing.

The window display has a mix of fashion, art, and vintage items.

On Saturday, a Christian Aid stall was set up in Abingdon’s Market Place, marking the start of Christian Aid Week 2025.

Christian Aid was founded in 1945 as Christian Reconciliation in Europe, in response to the suffering caused by the Second World War. British and Irish churches came together to support refugees in urgent need. In 1957 they launched Christian Aid Week and in 1964 renamed the charity to Christian Aid.

Eighty years on, Christian Aid continues to work alongside communities around the world facing poverty, conflict, and climate crises.

Twenty years ago, most households in Abingdon received a distinctive stick-down Christian Aid envelope, collected door to door by volunteers. That tradition is less common, but fundraising continues in new ways such as online envelopes.

The Abingdon Christian Aid Group’s online envelopes for 2025 is at https://fundraise.christianaid.org.uk/envelope-2025/abingdons-envelope.

If you heard the bells ringing at St Nicolas or St Helen’s in Abingdon today, it wasn’t for an early VE Day celebration. It was part of the Oxford Diocesan Bell Fund (ODBF) Ringing Day.

Bell ringers were visiting up to 26 towers across the old North Berks area, trying out the different bells. The teams were put together randomly, so as one experienced ringer told me, “It sounds rubbish!”

Each ringer paid £2 per tower (or £20 for a full day pass), and all the money goes towards maintaining and improving bells in the area.

I took a short video at St Nicolas. You can judge if the ringing is rubbish or not.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qGctQIkahoI

The proper bell ringers will be there on Thursday 8th May from 6:30 pm for the VE Day commemoration.